The Pirate King
by MiSs LiSsi LisS
Summary: YxA,AU. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! A young Yoh washes on the shore of an island & gets rescued by a noble family, the Kyoyamas. The daughter, Anna, befriends Yoh & they end up falling in love. Years later, a pirate ship belonging to the Pirate King Hao comes & Yoh leaves to protect the island. After Yoh doesn't return, Anna decides to take action, but the Pirate King has plans of his own
1. Chapter 1: The Boy of Deep Brown Eyes

**FULL SUMMARY:**

YxA, AU. 11 year old Yoh washes on the shore of a small island and ends up staying with the Kyoyamas, a noble family. The young daughter, Anna ends up befriending Yoh and as the years go by, they fall in love. But one day, a pirate ship belonging to the Pirate King Hao comes and Yoh leaves to protect the island. He ends up never returning. Two years later, the Pirate King Hao's ship returns and Anna decides to take action. She stows away on the ship until she is discovered by the Pirate King Hao, and he has no intention of letting her go.

 **Hi! I don't know if anyone here still remembers who I am so…If you do, long time no see! And if you don't remember me, well then welcome!**

 **Just a few things I'd like to say before you start reading:** I am notorious for writing really long chapters. And I mean, _really_ long. And also, if any of you remember me, I used to update really fast. Unfortunately, this won't really be the case this time. I actually wrote this chapter YEARS ago and I'm barely uploading it now because I finally have the time to. I've been super busy, but I'm hoping that actually uploading this and knowing people are reading will get me back into the swing of things!

 **Also a little Disclaimer:** I know I am also notorious for somewhat depressing stories…Well! Lucky for you this one is not depressing and this is my first attempt at an Action/Adventure type of story, so please bear with me! And I'm sorry, Anna and Yoh might be terribly OOC but hopefully the story will be good and you'll forgive me. (And of course, Romance is always my top priority!)

 **Without further ado, I do not own Shaman King, I just borrowed the characters so I can write a story.**

Chapter 1:

" _The Boy of Deep Brown Eyes"_

The wind was blowing hard as the sound of thunder rolled on. It was so loud and strong that it made the window she was sitting at shake. Ten year old Anna Kyoyama did not flinch though. She knew this was coming, and she knew that with this storm, something was coming. Be it good or bad, it was coming.

Anna Kyoyama was no prophetess or fortune teller, but she could always tell when a bad storm was coming and if something was coming with it.

"Mother," Anna said as she finally moved away from the window, "Let me go out there."

"For heaven's sake, Anna, no! Don't you see how awful it is outside? Let your father handle it."

"But there's _something_ out there," she looked towards the window, "I need to go see it. You know I've never been wrong before."

"And who's to say that that _something_ isn't bad?" Her mother went to the window and closed the curtains, "The answer, Anna, still remains: No."

Anna pouted and crossed her arms as her mother exited the room. She had other plans.

The small island of Funbari was prone to horrible storms and pirated attacks, so Anna's parents were very protective of her. The Kyoyamas were a very noble and respectable family on the island, and Anna was always used to being treated as a princess. So when people didn't give Anna her way, she gave it to herself.

Anna grabbed a long cloak from her father's closet and wrapped it around herself, especially covering up her head. She wasn't very tall, so it would be tricky getting out of her home without anyone getting suspicious.

"Mother!" Anna called out.

"What is it?" Her mother called out from another room.

"I'm taking my bath now," Anna said as she locked the bathroom door, "Please don't disturb me."

"Alright, but when your father gets home, please let him use the bath, I'm sure he'll want one."

Anna made no response as she opened the bathroom window. It was a long way down. She looked carefully around to see if there was any path she could take to get down. Finally she spotted some vines, but she would have to be extra careful considering the wind and rain.

The Kyoyamas were considered to be courageous people. The father, Koshiro Kyoyama, was a master swordsman, very noble and respectable indeed. He also was the brave soul who always went out to protect the town from pirates and inspected unknown ships or helped people out during storms like this. Anna was very proud of her father and always tried to be courageous like him. Anna's mother, Alicia Kyoyama, was really nothing more than the governor's daughter, but she was considered very elegant and respectable, something Anna didn't care as much about as courage, but still hoped to be.

Anna leaned over and grabbed the vines, but once she did, she slipped. As she fell though, she made sure to hold onto the vine. She scrapped her knuckles against the plaster of her house, but it didn't hurt as much in the rain. She finally fell and landed on her bottom, but quickly got up to leave. It actually wasn't as hard as she thought it would be to get down. Since it was raining, the rain did all the work for her and it was actually quite fun (minus the scraped knuckles).

Once she made sure that no one was watching her from her windows, Anna decided to dash off towards the docks, where she knew something was waiting for her.

As she got closer to the docks, she started to get scared; there were huge ships all around. Her legs started to slow down…what if…what if her mother was right? What if the something that was waiting for her was bad? Just because she got the feeling didn't mean it was going to benefit her. Her pace got so slow that it stopped. She stood there, in the middle of the street with rain pouring down hard. She took deep breaths and wondered if it was even worth sneaking out and getting bloody knuckles.

She swallowed hard and decided to keep going. She had to be brave, like her father. And if something were to happen, she was sure her father would protect her. As she thought of her father, she ran faster. He was there and if that something out there was bad, then she had to do something to protect him too.

As she reached the docks, she found that a ship had crashed into another ship and was on fire. Now she was really scared. What if it was bad? What if someone was hurt by that fire or the crash? Maybe she should've listened to her mother…

"I guess the ship was hit by lightning…" Anna's head perked up as she heard the voice of her father in the distance somewhere in front of her. His voice made her venture forward.

"Are there any survivors?"

"I don't know," her father's voice got clearer as she ventured closer and closer, "It's so hard to see in his damn rain!"

This must've been Anna's time to shine; her eyesight was very good, even when the wind and rain were blowing. Maybe that something she felt was that she was meant to help out her dad.

As Anna started to survey the area, she continued to listen in to her father's conversation: "That ship looks like a pirate ship; maybe it's good that there are no survivors?"

Anna froze when she heard the word _pirate_ , because right at that moment, she saw someone by the ship. But the figure was lying there, seemingly helpless and lifeless. Maybe that was the pirate's plan? Maybe when she went over there by herself, he would snatch her up? But the body didn't seem to be moving. She contemplated for a while whether she should call her dad or not. But then she decided that it would feel much more rewarding when she handled the situation herself and her daddy would be proud.

She approached the body cautiously. As she got closer, she saw that it was wrapped in a black cloak. She grabbed the hidden knife in her dress that her father made her carry around and put a hand on the cloak. She swallowed hard and decided that the best way to do it was just to do it quickly.

So she did.

The cloak slowly slid to the side as she anticipated the ugly pirate face she was going to see. But instead, she didn't see one. No, instead she saw a scrawny little boy, not much older than her lying there in raggedy clothes. Her eyes widen and she was suddenly scared that he was dead. She lifted the hood on her cloak and pressed her ear tightly to his chest. His heart was still beating. Good.

The boy's breath was starting to get shallow and slower, and Anna got frightened. She turned him over to his side so that the rain would not keep pouring into his mouth.

"Father!" Anna shouted, knowing that he was the only one who would know what to do, "FATHER!"

"Anna?" Her father called out as he approached the ship, "Anna what are you doing out here?"

"Never mind that!" She shouted holding the boy's head on her lap, "Just help him!"

Her father saw the boy and quickly rushed over to her side. He checked the heart beat and then did mouth to mouth resuscitation. The boy then coughed up water and opened his eyes. Anna had never felt so relieved. The boy started to look around in a panicked manner.

"Don't worry, son, you're safe now," Koshiro smiled.

The boy looked up at Koshiro with confused, deep brown eyes, "Where am I?"

"You're on the island Funbari," Koshiro explained, "Do remember how you got here? What is your name?"

The boy held his head, "I…I don't remember."

"Not even your name?" Anna piped in.

The boy looked at her and thought for a while, "…No…"

"Well, it says 'Asakura' on your cloak," Anna said as she picked it up and noticed there was also a leaf on it that said 'Yoh'.

"…It sounds familiar…" He held his head.

Anna opened her mouth to say something but her father shushed her, "Take it easy, son. You don't have to remember right now."

Then lightning crashed and as soon as the thunder rolled in, the boy fainted. It scared Anna. It had almost seemed as if the lightning hit him. She tugged on her father's sleeve, "Is he dead?"

"No, he just fainted." Her father ran a hand through her wet hair; the rain seemed to be calming down, "We'll have to take him to a hospital, though. And if he can't remember anything, then we'll need to find a place for him to stay."

"No," she tugged on his sleeve again, "He's coming home with us."

"A-Anna! Now we don't even know if—"

"Please, father!" She looked at him with beaming eyes, "I told you this storm was coming and that when it comes _something_ is coming with it! What if he's that something?"

He looked at his daughter's pleading eyes.

"Please, daddy! You said that you were looking for an apprentice…can't he be it?"

"Anna, he might not be—"

"Try him out." Anna huffed and pouted, "Please, father!"

Koshiro smiled and patted her head, "Okay. We will see if he proves worthy of the Kyoyamas."

Anna smiled and looked at the boy. He must be the "something".

Koshiro took the boy and brought him to the house, Alicia was a little displeased at the thought of a stranger living at the house but more displeased that Anna lied about taking a bath. She got a scolding, but she didn't care, she cared more about the boy and the mysteries he held.

The boy, whom they decided to call Yoh Asakura, took a bath, was examined by a doctor, and was told to rest in the guest room. After Yoh bathed, it was Anna's turn, but when she was done, she went straight into his room. Her parents told her not to disturb him and that he needed rest, but she ignored their warnings and went in anyway.

She entered the room quietly, closed the door, and then sat on his bed. She was told that he had a fever, so she did the servants a favor and decided watch over him.

"Hey," she said quietly, "Are you awake?" Truth is, she didn't care if he was awake or not, because if he wasn't, she was going to wake him regardless. "Hey!" She nudged his shoulder.

"Ugh, what is it?" the boy moaned as he slowly opened his deep brown eyes.

"Hello, I'm Anna Kyoyama," she gave a sweet smile that soon turned curious, "Can you really not remember anything?"

"Nope." He shook his head.

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

"So you don't know if you were a pirate or if you were a captive?"

"Nope."

Anna frowned, "Stop saying nope!"

He looked a little startled, "W-what _should_ I say?"

"You should make up an interesting story!" She leaned in to change the towel on his forehead.

"What do ya' mean?" He said, sitting up.

"You know, make up a story as to where you came from!"

"B-but that would be lyin'!"

"So?" Anna gave a devious smile, "Who would know? You could say anything you want! I'd believe it."

"W-well I don't know…"

"I got it!" Anna said, clasping her hands together, "You have to make up an interesting story for me, or else you can't stay here! If you make a good enough story, I'll let you stay."

The just sat there staring at her, blinking and raising an eyebrow.

"Got it, Yoh?"

"Yoh?"

"That's your name! Or at least, that's what I've decided to call you!"

"B-but, Miss Anna…Anna, right?" She nodded. "I don't even know where t' start…I…"

"Well, I don't expect one right away," she said as she crossed her arms, "Just think of one while you're lying around here getting better."

"B-but…"

"Look, if you're going to be living here with the Kyoyamas, you need be respectable, admirable, and mysterious!"

"And how do ya' suppose I do that when I can't even remember how I got here!"

"Well, my father says he's going to try you out."

" _Try me out_?" He repeated, "What does that mean?"

"My father is a master swordsman and he's looking for an apprentice," Anna gave a satisfied look, "I have faith that you're going to be his apprentice."

Yoh gulped. This was all happening too fast. He fell back onto his pillow and pulled the covers around him and let out a sigh.

"What's wrong, still not feeling well?" Anna said as she put a cold hand to his forehead. He jumped back from her touch and her hand immediately pulled back, "You're still so hot!" She got the towel that was once cool and refreshing and dunked it into the bowl of water to make it cool again. Then she gently put it on his forehead.

He smiled at her and closed his eyes, "Yer so nice…"

Anna lifted a brow; she didn't really think she was particularly being nice, but a compliment was a compliment and she would take it gladly.

"I…I don't really remember much," Yoh said with his eyes still closed, "…But I know that were I used t' be wasn't a nice place."

"What do you mean?" She leaned in because he voice was lowering.

"It feels good t' sleep on a bed…" his voice started to trail off and sleep was starting to take over.

"But _what_ wasn't a nice place?"

He lazily opened his eyes half-way and smiled, "Thanks so much…"

Then he closed his eyes and did not say another word. At first, Anna thought he died, that is, until she heard his soft breathing. She let out a slight grunt of frustration as she crossed her arms. She was about ready to wake him up, but upon seeing his relaxed sleeping face, she decided not to. She let out a sigh and uncrossed her arms. He was sick and he needed to rest. She got up and out of his room quietly, trying not to make any noises that would cause her attention.

"Anna Sophia Kyoyama!"

Anna jumped at the sound of her full name.

"Did you just come out of that boy's room?" Her mother's voice was raised.

"Uhm…"

"Didn't I tell you _not_ to bother him? He's sick! He doesn't have the energy to be bothered by you!"

"But I just wanted to know where he came from!"

"He will tell us that when he's ready!" Anna's mother put her hands on her hips, "Now, young lady, it's time for you to go to bed! And you will not get dessert tomorrow for lying to me!"

Anna grunted a "yes ma'am" and shuffled off to bed, though quite happy that she didn't get into as much trouble as she thought she would. Who needs dessert anyway?

The next morning, Anna went to straight to Yoh's room. She jumped on his bed, "Good morning, Yoh!"

Yoh bolted up with shock, blinked a few times, then fell right back down and pulled the covers over his head.

"Hey! I said Good Morning!" she shook him through the covers, "When I say that, you're supposed to say "Good Morning Miss Anna, you sure look lovely today"!" When he didn't respond, she shook the covers again, "Hey, did you forget your manners too?"

Suddenly Yoh reached for the bucket that was by his bed and vomited. Anna scooted back until she hit the end bedpost. Yoh used the towel that hung on his side of the bedpost to wipe his mouth, then he tried to smile at Anna, "Good Mornin' Miss Anna, ya' sure look lovely today."

Anna let out a small smile and then got off the bed. "Well, since you're still sick I guess I'll come back later. But don't think I'm done with you for the day, I've still got my questions."

"Great," he moaned as he held his head.

"See you later," Anna smiled sweetly; but her sweet smiles never really were sweet, they were always hidden with devious thoughts…her sweet smile of poison.

Yoh got shivers when she smiled at him and closed the door. He hid under the covers and mumbled, "I hope I don't get better."

Anna walked the halls straight and tall, lady-like. She still had her poisonous sweet smile on her face. She had big plans for Yoh. Even though Anna was only 10, she already had an idea of what she wanted. She already knew that she would probably end up marrying her father's top apprentice, which meant, whoever that was had to be strong and courageous, respectable and well-liked, and who could forget, of course handsome. Anna had high hopes that that person would be Yoh. Even though she had just met him yesterday, she had a good feeling about him. She knew that that storm would be bringing something and that something was Yoh. She must've felt that on purpose, it must've meant something. So of course Anna was going to put him to good use. He was a little shaggy looking, but once he feels better and is cleaned up he'll probably look quite handsome, and his sudden appearance gave him a mysterious air about him especially with his deep, dark, brown eyes. Anna smirked. And what's even better was that he had no memory, she could shape him however she wanted.

What she didn't really worry about was love. Love was a luxury that not everyone could afford, so she didn't worry about the prices, she wasn't even going to buy it. At least now she wasn't. She knew what she wanted; she knew what others expected of her, what with her grandfather being the governor, her mother a respectable and well-liked Lady, and her father a courageous swordsman. She had no time to think about love.

But as time went by, she found that maybe counting love in her plan won't be so bad. The more she talked to Yoh, the more she smiled. Living like she did, she didn't have very many friends or people around her age. She liked talking to Yoh and trying to get him to remember where he came from. Even though most of the time she got in trouble for sneaking into his room while he was sick, Anna did it a few times a day. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't get dessert for the rest of her life.

"So how are you feeling now?" Anna asked as she entered the room. It had been a couple of days since Yoh had first been discovered and had not even seen the house he was living in fully yet. Yoh had been staying this same room for almost a week now since not only was he sick, he was also malnourished and ordered to stay in bed by the Kyoyamas' nurses until he was "restored to health". Anna was obviously getting impatient.

"I'm feeling better." Yoh said with a sheepish smile.

"Hm, well you look better," Anna said as she sat on the bed, sitting across from him. She sat there and looked carefully at him, when she first saw him, he was very skinny and pale, and his hair was about up to his shoulders. But now that Yoh had been living in the Kyoyama mansion for almost a week, he had more color and his hair was cut, even his deep brown eyes seemed to have more life. He was still very skinny, but that was something that would change in due time.

"I know what you're thinkin', Miss Anna," Yoh said as Anna snapped out of her stare.

"W-what?"

"You want to ask me if I remember anythin'."

That was _not_ what she was thinking as she stared, but she decided to pretend that it was, "Yes, do you?"

"Well not particularly," he looked up as he tried to think, "Just the same."

"So all you know is that you are 11 years old, and that wherever you were, it was cold?"

He closed his eyes, "Yes…and some voices…and…the sound of chains."

"Chains?" Anna repeated as she leaned in.

"Yeah…" he closed his eyes tighter, "But I can't remember where the sound came from."

"That's it!" Anna exclaimed, "I bet you were a captive on that pirate ship!"

Yoh frowned, "That would make sense…"

"Do you remember anything else?"

"I don't remember specifics, I just remember not bein' happy…I hated bein' on that ship…" then he tried to smile, "It's not at all like it is here. This place is warm and I can eat whatever I want!"

Anna giggled a bit and sat against the end bedpost, "Yes, but soon you'll have to earn your stay."

"Earn my stay?"

"Uh-huh. Actually you'll be benefiting from it, but its hard work."

"Well if it means stayin' here then I'll do it."

"Good," Anna nodded. "Meanwhile…" she leaned in, "You have to work on that story."

Yoh groaned.

"You thought I forgot, didn't you?" He didn't respond as she crossed her arms. "Well, since you remember that you were a captive on a pirate ship, make up some pirate stories. Like…like make up how you ended up on that ship or what happened on that ship!"

Yoh smiled and for some reason that made Anna's heart thump faster, especially with his deep brown eyes looking straight at her. "Okay, I'll think about it." Then he lied down and pulled the covers to his shoulders. That always seemed to be his way of dismissing her.

Well, Anna did not like it one bit when he did that and something told her that he knew that. "Hey! Don't just comfortably crawl into your covers! I'm still here!"

He chose to ignore her which only made her angrier.

"Hmph! Fine, get used to it now, but next week you'll be working hard! No more falling asleep soon after I come in to visit you!" She said as she got off the bed and crossed her arms, "And maybe after that I will stop paying you visits!"

"No, please don't!" Yoh said sitting up a bit.

"Hm?" Anna turned towards him and lifted a brow.

He gave a toothy grin and said, "I like when ya' visit."

She was almost sure she blushed at that moment. "W-whatever. I'll come back later."

Yoh let out a little chuckle as Anna reached the door. Before she left, she turned towards him, "Since it looks like you're feeling better, tomorrow I will show you around."

The last thing Anna remembered seeing before she closed the door was Yoh's beaming face.

So the next day, Anna's parents left to attend some important meeting that Anna didn't care too much to pay attention what for. Her parents, gone? Perfect. Now whether they thought Yoh was well enough to move about or not, they weren't there to scold her. Once she was sure her parents were gone, she practically ran to Yoh's room to tell him the good news.

"Yoh!" Anna said as entered the room. He was still covered in his sheets, so she did what she always did: jumped on his bed. "Wake up sleepy-head!"

He moaned and turned over, "Good Morning Miss Anna, you sure look lovely today."

Anna crossed her arms, "You have to open your eyes to say that!"

He rubbed his eyes and then revealed those deep, dark, mysterious eyes. Then he looked at her and smiled, "Why? It's always true."

Anna blushed but refused to smile. If she could've refused to blush too, she would've. She tried to prove her point of him having to say it with his eyes open. How did she know he wasn't just saying it because she told him he should? "You're just saying that aren't you? The least you could do is lie with your eyes open."

He gave a sheepish grin, "I'm not lyin'! You do look very lovely, like your mother."

She blushed again and got up quickly before he could see it. She hoped that he wasn't lying just so that she wouldn't get mad. "Whatever, just get dressed soon so I can show you around."

"Okay," he said as he got up and she left. She stood outside leaning against the wall. Come to think of it, she had never really seen him outside of his bed…she didn't even really know how tall he was. She hadn't even seen him out of his bed wear.

The sound of the door opening shook Anna from her thoughts of what he would look like in regular clothes. Yoh closed the door and looked around before looking at Anna. He smiled his usual sheepish smile and Anna smiled back. "It's so big, where do we start?"

"Follow me," Anna said as she led him around. She noticed that he was taller than her, but not vastly. She also took note that he looked quite fine in regular clothes too.

As she showed him around her home, he "ooo'd" and "awed" and smiled a lot. He would often comment on how he never imagined that a house this big could even exist. The last thing she showed him was the rooms. She showed him which room belonged to her parents, but didn't let him in.

"Which one is yours?" He asked.

"This one," Anna said as she walked towards it.

Yoh looked at the big brown doors, then he looked at her, "Can we go inside?"

Anna crossed her arms and thought for a bit. She shrugged her shoulders, "Okay, I guess."

She pushed the big brown doors open to let him in the room, at that moment Yoh's mouth formed an 'o'. He ran over to her bed. "Who else sleeps in here?"

Anna's eyebrows scrunched and was taken aback, "What do you mean? This is _my_ room, I sleep in here."

" _By yourself_?" he asked disbelievingly.

Was he insinuating that she couldn't sleep in a room by herself? "Yes, by myself! I'm 10 years old already! I'm practically an adult!"

"Oh no," he laughed as he jumped on the bed, "I just meant that this bed is so big! I can't believe that only one person sleeps on'it!"

She walked over to the bed, straight and tall, and sat next to Yoh. He smiled at her, "Can I lay on it?"

She shrugged, "I don't care."

He let out a "Yippee!" as he fell back onto the soft bed. "It's so comfortable!"

Anna smiled as she watched him stretch on the bed and get comfy.

He shot her a look, "Lay down with me."

Anna's eyebrows furrowed, "Is that any way to ask?"

He gave her a toothy grin and laughed, "You're too funny, Miss Anna."

"And why's that?" she asked as she crossed her arms.

He sat up a bit and gave a sheepish grin, "Because you're so proper. We're about the same age and you're always walkin' tall and straight, while I slouch. You're all about manners."

"And that's funny?" Anna lifted a brow. "For your information, Asakura Yoh, I _have to_ walk straight and tall and have manners if I want to be a Lady."

Yoh's eyebrows scrunched together, "But you're a girl, whether you like it or not, you'll be a lady. Do all girls have to act like this?"

Anna gave Yoh a frustrated look. She opened her mouth to explain that the "Lady" she was referring to was _not_ the same as a regular lady, but then Yoh interrupted her, "Lay down with me, _please_ , Miss Anna."

Anna's frustrated look melted down and she decided to lie down next to Yoh.

"See? This bed can probably fit another person or two on it!" he turned toward her, "Don't 'cha ever get lonely in this bed?"

Anna was quickly going to answer "No" but then thought about it. She laid flat on her back with her hands folded on her stomach, staring at the ceiling, "Sometimes."

"What do you do when you get lonely?" He asked, staring at her.

She could feel his stare, but didn't look at him, "Nothing."

He propped his head up using his elbow, "Nothin'? That's awful!"

"Then what do you think I should do?" Anna asked, turning only her head towards him.

He gave a little shrug.

"See?" Anna said turning her head back towards the ceiling again.

"

Well, then…maybe I'll come visit ya'." He smiled innocently.

"What?" She turned her head back towards him.

"Believe me, I know that nothin' is worse than being lonely," he said slowly as he looked down, then he looked up and smiled, "But now that we have each other, we don't have t' be lonely!"

Anna quickly turned her attention back onto the ceiling as she blushed. She knew that he was only being friendly, but it made her blush to hear him say something like that, especially since she had plans of marrying him someday because he was going to be her father's top apprentice. And those eyes! Something about his dark mysterious eyes made her heart thump faster. He had no idea of her plans and he was making it hard for her to focus on her plan.

"An' y'know," he said, lying back down instead on propped up on his elbow, "Ya' don't have t' act so lady-like in front'a me, Miss Anna."

"I have to be lady-like at all times," Anna said as she closed her eyes.

"Why?"

"That is what is expected of me."

"But why? Can't you be who you want to be?"

"I am who I want to be," Anna said as she opened her eyes and looked at him, not noticing how close he actually was. He could not ruin her plans with this nonsense talk about _not_ being a lady.

"If ya' say so, Miss Anna," he shrugged. "I'm just lettin' ya' know that if you ever get tired of sittin' up straight and walkin' tall, ya' can slouch around me anytime." This statement was followed by Yoh's toothy grin that Anna could not resist.

She smiled too and closed her eyes, "Thank you, Yoh."

He gave a little "uh-huh" as he stretched. Then he hugged the pillow and nuzzled against it, "You sure are lucky, Miss Anna…these pillows are so comfy…and they smell so good, just like you!"

Anna blushed and buried her face in the pillow. Just what was he getting at? Was he trying to get her all flustered? He either liked teasing her a lot or he was extremely innocent.

"What's wrong?" He asked, innocence was all over his face. "I complimented you, was that bad?"

Maybe he was just dumb; Anna contemplated as she turned her head towards him, "Well this _is_ MY bed, why wouldn't it smell like me?"

"I dunno," He shrugged innocently and then closed his eyes while smiling.

"It's 'I _don't know_."

"What?" He opened his eyes to look at her confusedly.

"It's not 'I _dunno_ ', it's 'I _don't know_ '; its two words not one. Also, it's ' _you_ ' not ' _ya'_ '," Anna shook her head, "Honestly, Yoh, your speech is horrible."

Yoh closed his eyes and laughed, "Well, not everyone is as educated as _you_ , Miss Anna. There _you_ go with your properness again…"

He laughed but Anna pouted. Then she stared at him. "Hey, Yoh," she said softly.

"Hm?" His eyes were still closed, "What is it, Miss Anna?"

"Do you believe in fate?"

"I _don't know_ ," he made sure he said it properly as he squeezed the pillow, "If I really do become your father's apprentice, then maybe I do."

She smiled, "Then I will too." Then she decided to squeeze a pillow and close her eyes too. "You'll never believe this, but I knew you were coming."

"How?" He asked, opening his eyes.

"Well, I didn't know _you_ specifically, but I can sense when bad storms are coming and if something is coming with it."

"Wow." Yoh said slowly, "Then maybe I _do_ believe in fate!"

Anna gave a slight giggle and the rest of the day was spent with them just talking to each other. They got to know each other better, or rather, Yoh learned more about Anna since he couldn't remember much, but Anna also learned about Yoh through the way the responded and reacted to things. They chatted until both of them eventually fell asleep.

"Anna!" Anna's father called, "Anna, we're home!"

"Hm? Where is she?" Alicia asked as she entered her home. "Usually Anna greets us when we return…Anna! Anna, grandfather brought home a gift for you!"

When there was no response, Alicia got a little frantic.

"Relax, honey," Koshiro smiled, "Maybe she's in the bath. You don't have to be so panicked; you know Anna is capable of taking care of herself. Besides, the servants are here as well."

"It's not her I'm worried about," Alicia crossed her arms, "It's _that boy_."

Koshiro decided to ask the servants and maids if they knew where Anna was. They only shrugged in response. They refused to tell the Kyoyama parents that Anna had given Yoh a tour of the house today. Though they were very fond of the Kyoyama parents, their loyalties lied with Anna. Because Anna's parents were out most of the time, the servants and maids looked after Anna a lot and her little acts of sneakiness amused them and whenever Anna asked them not to tell, they were loyal and did not (unless of course whatever Anna was doing was dangerous). They just hoped that by now Anna and Yoh were in their own rooms.

When they heard Alicia's shriek, they knew their answer.

"What is it, Alicia?" Koshiro said as he approached his wife.

"That boy's not in his room!" Alicia shrieked as she pointed to Yoh's empty bed. "What if he's run away with our daughter?"

Koshiro laughed, "Calm down, sweetie, they're only 10."

"Yes, but _that boy_ 's a pirate! What if this was his plan? What if he puts a ransom on our daughter?"

"Alicia, honey, please calm down!" Koshiro tired not to laugh at his frantic wife, "The boy has lost his memory, he is incapable of doing that. Besides, I've had a few talks with the boy, he wouldn't hurt our daughter. Let's just keep searching the house and see if they're playing a joke on us."

Alicia crossed her arms. She loved her daughter dearly, but hated how Anna played tricks on them. They decided to check all the restrooms and extra rooms they had before decided to check the bedrooms. When they opened the door the Anna's room and saw Anna and Yoh both sleeping, Koshiro had to quickly cover his wife's mouth from making any shrieking noises. She shot a glare to him and he gave a smile, "Just let them sleep, there's no harm, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Alicia whispered a yell, " _That boy_ is in our daughter's bed!"

"Yes, sleeping," Koshiro whispered, "They're only 10. Anna doesn't ever get a chance to talk or play with someone her age. And Yoh probably wasn't living a very good life before, so let's just let the kids be kids, okay?"

Alicia crossed her arms; it was easy to tell where Anna got her stubbornness from, "Fine. But she won't get away with this. She knows that I told her to let that boy rest. And _he_ should know better than to get out of bed without the nurse's consent." Then Alicia turned towards her husband, "Since he's well enough, tomorrow his training will start." With that Alicia left, and Koshiro stood in the doorway.

Koshiro sighed as he saw Anna and Yoh sleeping peacefully on her bed. That bed was always too big for her anyway, he mused. He felt bad for Anna always being alone, but he hoped that having Yoh over would make up for it. The only thing that bothered him was that, yes, indeed, Yoh was a pirate. Granted he may not remember anything about being on that ship, he still might have family looking out for him. He had to be careful around this boy, and this boy had to be careful around his daughter.

Koshiro slowly walked over to the side Yoh was sleeping on. He sat down and shook him a little, "Wake up, boy."

When Yoh moaned and shrugged Koshiro's hand away, Koshiro shook harder which made Yoh jump up. Quickly Yoh sat up and covered his head, "I'm sorry, sir!"

Koshiro gave a slight, quiet laugh, "Calm down, boy."

Yoh slowly removed his hands away from his head to look at Anna's father, "Oh, it's you, Mr. Kyoyama…" Yoh said slowly and then something clicked, "AH! Mr. Kyoyama…I, um, uh—"

Koshiro quietly laughed, "Shh, calm down, don't wake up Anna."

Yoh looked over to his side to see Anna sleeping soundly and then nodded.

"Did you think I was someone else?"

Yoh sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "I…um, I dunno _who_ I thought ya' were."

"Did you think I was going to hit you?"

Yoh looked away and then slowly nodded.

"Just what happened while you were on that ship…?" Koshiro mused quietly, knowing that Yoh wouldn't know. Then he gave Yoh a serious look, "Listen here, son, this is very important."

Yoh nodded as he gave Koshiro his complete attention.

"You like staying here, right?" Yoh nodded. "Well, you can stay as long as your loyalty lies _here_ always. Got that?"

"I promise!" Yoh said with a nod.

"Also…" Koshiro's eyes went to his daughter, "I want you to protect Anna at all costs. That is more important than _anything_. Anna's safely will _always_ be your top priority, got that?"

Yoh looked over at the peaceful sleeping Anna. He couldn't remember much, and he knew that that was probably for the better. He was here in this wonderful big house with people who were willing to give him anything he wanted as long as he protected this one girl? Well of course he would! Who would say no to an offer like that? Besides, had it not been for Anna sensing that storm and something coming with it, he wouldn't even be here. Then he looked at her father and gave a determined smile. "Of course. I promise, I will protect Anna, _no matter what the cost_."

"Good," Koshiro patted Yoh on the back and then got up to leave, "Then your training starts tomorrow. Make sure you're ready. And get back to bed…your _own_ bed, please."

Yoh's face tinted red as Koshiro left. He sighed and was about to get off the bed until he felt a tug at his shirt. He turned to see a very sleepy Anna looking at him. He wasn't sure if she had heard the conversation he and her father just had or if she was just waking up. "Is there somethin' ya' need, Miss Anna?"

"Better train hard." Was all Anna said as she let go of his shirt.

He smiled. "You can count on me, Miss Anna."

She closed her eyes, "I'm a handful…"

"I know," he laughed.

"Are you sure you know what you're getting into?" She asked as she snuggled against her pillow. "I don't want you chickening out later on."

"If ya' really did sense me comin' with that storm, then you saved my life, so I owe ya' mine." He had a faraway smile on his face, "And if there really is such a thing as fate…then I should do this."

"Good." was all she said as she drifted back to sleep. Yoh smiled and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. He was going to become her father's apprentice, no matter what.

The next day, Yoh was awoken early to do a couple of basic exercises. Koshiro said that he had to start off slow and get used to waking up early and exercises before he could teach Yoh anything. The whole day was a very busy day for Yoh and Anna didn't get to see him personally at all. While Yoh was training, Anna was dealing with her punishment: homework. Because of the problem the town has of pirates and because virtually Anna is an important person, she was forced to be home-schooled, so if Anna's mother said more homework, she got it. Also, Anna had more hours of her etiquette classes to show that it was _not_ lady-like to let a boy sleep in her bed, at all.

So the next couple of days had been busy. Yoh would always be too tired at the end of the day to go visit Anna or have her visit at all. The only time Anna really got to see Yoh was from out her of window while she was supposed to be studying. She grew fascinated at the site of Yoh working so hard. At first she saw him as a lazy boy, but now she actually saw him "at work" and he worked hard. When the actual training started, he caught on _very_ quickly. She would often hear her father coming in to tell her mother of how amazed he was of Yoh's ability to learn techniques so easily.

"I wonder if he's ever had to fight before," Koshiro told his wife. "He had no problem with the weight of the sword and he's catching on very quickly…"

"I knew it, he's a pirate, isn't he?" Alicia had a very concerned tone.

"Not anymore," Koshiro smiled, "He is a student of Koshiro Kyoyama now."

Anna smiled when she heard this. She had actually been hiding behind the door and eavesdropping into the conversation her mother and father were having, but she heard what she needed to. She decided now she should go to bed, she saw how rough Yoh's training was and new he wouldn't be up for visitors at this time.

Anna got dressed into her nightwear and crawled into bed. She hadn't seen Yoh for about a week now, and she hated to admit it, but she was feeling very lonely. She stared at the ceiling as to not think of the giant lonely bed she was trying to sleep in. She thought back to when Yoh was making a big deal of her bed being too big and ever since then, sleeping in it hasn't been right. Before she slept, she would always feel lonely, and not seeing Yoh just made it worse. Wasn't he the one saying now that they had each other they wouldn't have to be lonely? Now she was nothing _but_ lonely without seeing him.

There was a tap on her window leading out to the balcony. She decided to ignore it, maybe it was the wind. But when she heard it again, she slowly got up. She clutched the knife her father made her keep under her pillow and approached the window. She decided it would be less scary if she just opened it, so she did. But when she did, she hit something.

"Ow…ow!"

"Yoh?" Anna asked as she saw a figure lying down on the balcony.

"Ya' didn't hafta open the window so quickly," he said as he rubbed his nose.

"What are you doing out here?" Anna whispered as she helped him up.

"Remember when I told you that sometime I would pay you a visit at night? Well here I am! I haven't seen you in forever!"

Anna blushed at his response and almost missed him asking, "May I come in?"

"It's not lady-like to let a boy into a girl's room after she has put on her nightwear." Anna said with crossed arms.

Yoh's face immediately dropped and sadly turned to leave.

"I'm joking," Anna said as she tugged on his arm to come in. "And how did you get here? Why didn't you use the door?"

"I didn't want to get you in trouble," he said as she led him to the bed, "So I climbed up to your balcony."

"You climbed up?" Anna knew how high up that balcony was, that's how she got the little scars on her knuckles.

"Uh huh," he smiled as he sat on her bed. "And I hope you're grateful, I'm already sore from today's trainin'." He said while laughing.

"You didn't have to do that," she said as she sat on the bed as well.

"Well of course I did," he smiled as he lied down. "I said I would visit you and here I am! I'm showing you I can keep my word!"

She got comfortable under the covers, "But how did you know?"

"Know what?" He smiled.

"That I…" she blushed and hid under the covers, "Never mind."

"What? How did I know what?" He asked trying to pull the covers off of her face. She struggled for a little while, but when he was finally able to take the cover away from her face, he was faced with an expression he'd never seen on her before. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes glistened.

"How did you know that I was lonely?"

He hoped he never had to see that lonely expression on her face ever again. "I didn't…" he half-smiled, " _I_ was lonely."

She sat up a bit to face him better, "Really?"

"Uh huh…that's why I came." He nodded and she gave a slight smile. She felt slightly better that she wasn't the only one who felt lonely. "Hey, we should have a code-word for when we feel lonely!"

"Like what?"

"I dunno…like…like "see ya' later"!"

" _See_ you _later_? That's not code at all!"

"Yeah, but we can say it before we go to sleep. And if I hear you say that, then I'll come over!"

Anna thought about it for a while and then shrugged. "Well, I guess." Then she lied down fully and got comfy under her sheets, "Now. Tell me a story."

Yoh smiled, "You're in luck. I thought of one day!"

Anna smiled and listened intently. He told a story of how he came to be a captive on an evil pirate ship and how he used special tricks to fool the pirates. All of it was made up of course, but Anna enjoyed hearing it nonetheless. That's when Yoh noticed that Anna loved hearing stories. From that night on, whenever he visited her, he would tell her a story of either him or of a future where they would go on adventures together. He noticed that Anna had a sense of adventure, and that maybe…maybe she lied about saying "I am who I want to be." Maybe she wanted something more? Maybe she wanted adventure? Yoh promised himself that night that someday, he would take her on adventure.

Yoh would tell Anna stories until she fell asleep and then quietly return to his own room. The next day he would usually pay for staying up late because he was tired at his training sessions the next day, but he deemed it worth it. It was worth it if he knew Anna wasn't lonely anymore.

As years went by, Yoh and Anna got closer and closer. Yoh had been getting better and better at Koshiro's style of swordsmanship and on days that Anna's parents had meetings, he would teach Anna a few techniques. It was against her trainings of being a "Lady", but she decided to take up Yoh's offer and "slouch around him anytime".

But also as time went by, Alicia decided to open up etiquette class so that maybe Anna would make more friends. And almost at the same time that was happening, Koshiro had gained another student, Ryunosuke, who was older than Yoh and Anna, but still under in skill. So many people more people around Yoh and Anna's age had been obtained, but Anna and Yoh's relationship still stayed the same and was growing as years went by and as they matured. Yes, so far, according to Anna's plan, everything was going along perfectly, that is, until a storm came…and ruined everything.

* * *

 **Well? What did you think?** **Any comments, questions, suggestions, or constructive criticism?** Like I said this is my first time trying to do an Action/Adventure fic, so I will gladly receive any comments or suggestions on the matter! **So please make sure that you do review and give me some feedback!**

 **Until next chapter, thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned for chapter two!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Calm Before the Storm

Hey guys! I'm back! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but life, y'know? Well luckily this is a long chapter, so I hope it satisfies you for a while! **Special thanks to** **BlackAndCrimsonDreamer** **, furelise,** **complicatedmind21** **, and xD for the reviews! Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 2:

" _The Calm before the Storm"_

As the years passed on in the Kyoyama household, things began to change. Firstly, the house was only filled with Koshiro, Alicia, and Anna (and, well, of course their maids and servants). Then Yoh came along, and Anna was happy. A couple of years after that, Alicia Kyoyama opened up an etiquette class for children around Anna's age. A lot of students joined, most notably Tamao, Pirika, and Manta. Yoh would sometimes sit-in to some of the classes and ended up befriending Manta, while Anna befriended Tamao and Pirika. And shortly after that, another student came to join Koshiro Kyoyama's style of swordsmanship. His name was Ryunosuke (Ryu, for short), he was older than Yoh by a year, but not stronger. Sometimes Anna would worry that if Ryu ever passed up Yoh, she would have to marry Ryu and she would often get jealous because she saw that Tamao too had her sights on Yoh. But no matter what, somehow Anna knew the boy with deep brown eyes was always hers and that he would never let Ryu get better than him.

"Anna?" Alicia knocked on her daughter's door, "Anna, it's time to come out now."

"No. I'm not going out in this!"

"What do you mean?" Alicia put her hands on her hips, "Your grandfather got you that dress especially to be worn on your 12th birthday, and so help me Anna, you are going to wear it!"

"No!" Anna did not unlock her door and sat pouting on her bed. She knew her grandfather meant well, but this dress was too flashy and too puffy. The only thing it had going for her was that it was red; her favorite color.

"If you don't come out here, I'm getting Yoh."

"And do what? He can't make me unlock this door!" Anna shouted. She definitely didn't want _him_ of all people to see her in this dress. She had never even worn a corset before. She was only barely 12! Why did she need one?

"Come on, Anna! You can't be late to _your_ _own_ birthday party!"

"Just tell them I'm not feeling well!"

"Anna!" Her mom yelled, but it was no use. So she started walking down the hall, if she couldn't get her daughter out, maybe her father could.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Kyoyama," Yoh smiled as he was about to pass her down the halls, but noticed her exasperated expression, "What's wrong?"

"Anna." Was all she said, as if he should already know.

"What's wrong with Anna?" Yoh's expression changed from happy to worry.

"She says she's ' _not feeling well_ '," Alicia said as she crossed her arms, "But really, she just doesn't want to come out in her new dress."

"Why not?"

"Heaven knows!" Alicia shrugged, "Be a dear and go see if you can get her to come out?"

Yoh nodded, "Leave it to me, Mrs. Kyoyama."

Anna stood in front of her mirror and looked at her dress. Okay, so it wasn't _so_ bad, it wasn't ugly in the least…it was just… _embarrassing_. She missed wearing a simple dress that just tied in the back with a bow, not this complex _costume_. It was too flashy…too "look at me". She didn't want to wear it at all. Yoh always made fun of her whenever she was so fancy and proper. Maybe he wasn't attracted to fancy flashy women? Oh what was she worrying about? She was only 12, not even a teen yet! But he was…that shouldn't make a difference, should it?

"Good Morning, Miss Anna, you sure look lovely today!"

Anna just about jumped out of her skin when she heard Yoh's voice somewhere behind her. She immediately regretted not locking her window.

"What are you doing in here!? Get out!" Anna yelled as she tried to hide and threw a pillow at him.

The pillow hit his face, but he laughed, "What's the big deal? I came here to give you a present before everyone else starts piling theirs on you!"

"No you didn't," she said as she hid behind her mirror, sticking her head out, "My mother sent you here."

"Well she did ask me," he decided to be honest, "But I was on my way over here anyway to give it to you." Then he pulled out a box wrapped in red paper. "See?"

Anna looked at it from behind the mirror, deciding whether it was worth it or not. Then she looked at him, "It's a trap, isn't it?"

"No. If you don't want to come out, then I will give you the present and leave, then tell everyone that you really aren't feeling well."

Anna looked carefully at him, and then stuck her hand out, "Well then, give it to me."

"No," Yoh smiled, "You have to come out from behind the mirror to get it, _then_ I will leave."

"Then no." Anna said as she put her hand down and got back to back to the mirror.

"Oh, c'mon, Miss Anna!" Yoh dared to step closer to the mirror, "At least let _me_ see the dress!"

"No!" He was the one she didn't want to see it!

"It can't be _that_ bad!"

"It is! So leave!"

"Please, Miss Anna?" He asked as he kept stepping closer to the mirror.

"No!"

"I'm going to see you in that dress…"

"No you're not!" Anna got shivers as she heard his voice get closer, "I'll…I'll call my father!"

"Then do it!" Yoh laughed, "He'll make you go outside!"

"Oh, Yoh I hate you!" Anna shouted.

"Well, I don't see what's so bad about this dress," Yoh said as he was now right next to Anna, "Red always suits you best."

"Yoh!" Anna screamed as she pushed him away, "I hate you! Get out of my room!"

"What's the matter? It looks fine."

There was no use in trying to hide now, he saw it. He was lying, she knew it, he was probably just trying not to laugh. Anna pouted and sat on her bed.

"Miss Anna?"

"Just give me the present and leave, I'm not feeling well."

"Well now you have to tell me what's wrong," Yoh said as he sat next to her.

"You're such a nuisance," Anna mumbled.

He laughed and smiled, "Whatever you say."

 _Why did he have to be so damn charming?_ Anna contemplated as she looked down on her dress. "I look ridiculous, don't I?"

Yoh was taken aback by her rhetorical question, but then he laughed, "What would ever make you think that?"

Anna glared at him.

"What?" Yoh was confused.

" _You_ think I look ridiculous, don't you?"

"No!" Yoh said as he stood up, "You look beautiful! That dress really suits you!"

Anna crossed her arms. Shouldn't he be making fun of this dress? Why wasn't he? "You're just saying that, aren't you?"

"No!" Yoh almost laughed at her statement, "Why do you think I'm always lying to you? Haven't I gained your trust by now?"

Anna looked down, now she felt bad for doubting his words. He had never lied to her before…

"And when I say I think you look beautiful, that means go out there and show everyone!" he said as he smiled.

Anna gave a little smile, "I'm sorry I doubted you…it's just _I_ feel ridiculous…"

"Why?"

"Because it's so flashy and fancy…"

"Well that's okay," he smiled, "It's only for today and everyone is dressed fancy, I mean, look at me!" He pointed as he saw his nice pants, white blouse and vest…now dirtied from climbing up to her window. "Besides, you shouldn't feel ridiculous, you should feel proud!"

"Why?"

"Because, you're becoming the _Lady_ you always wanted to be!"

She smiled, "Thanks, Yoh."

"Now here," he shoved the red box that was in his hand onto her lap, "Open it!"

Anna carefully peeled back the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a necklace made out of blue beads. She picked it up and looked at it, "It's so beautiful…"

"I was going to give you red beads since it's your favorite color, but I thought since you're usually wearing red, I'll get you a different color."

"I love it!" Anna said and she quickly put it on.

"It goes well with your dress!"

She smiled as she looked at the mirror. Then she looked at Yoh, "Oh! You're wearing yours too!"

"Of course! I wear it everyday!" Yoh said as he looked down at the necklace Anna gave him for his birthday. It was very simple, just three bear claws attached to string, but it meant a lot to Yoh. She had said it symbolized strength and courage and he wore it proudly everyday.

"I thought for sure my mother would tell you to take it off since you're dressed so fancy too."

"Well, I'm going to wear it away," he sheepishly smiled. Then he grabbed her hand, "C'mon, it's time for everyone to see the beautiful birthday girl!"

Anna smiled and left without complaints. Everyone complimented her dress and as long as she had Yoh by her side, she had a good time. As time went on, that fact became almost painfully clear: If Yoh wasn't by her side, then she was restless and bored. She almost hated admitting that, she wouldn't be happy unless she knew that Yoh felt the same way. She had to find out how he felt.

But as time went on, Anna found it hard to tell. Yoh was always nice and kind to everyone, not just to her. He also had to be nice because if he wasn't, her father would surely kick Yoh out onto the streets. So how was she to tell? Was she supposed to just ask him? No. In all the books she's read, the boys make the first move. If he liked her, he would show it, and he would tell her, right? But what if he doesn't? She couldn't wait forever! Anna always found a way to get what she wanted…and he should be no different.

Slowly, though, Anna realized that he _was_ different. Somehow he was the exception to all her rules. She suddenly felt worried about her plans on marrying him just because he was her father's top student. She wanted him to want _her_. It just wouldn't be fair if she liked him more than he liked her. No, if she wanted her perfect future that she planned out, he needed to love her too. But wanting that just drove her insane. She knew that if she wanted the successful future she planned out she couldn't put love into the picture, but somehow it ended up there and it showed no signs of leaving.

When Anna was 14, she was sure that those feelings would not go away. She tried to ignore them and push them away; she would not show them unless Yoh showed them first!

"Anna!" Her mother called out, "We'll be leaving now!"

Anna opened her door to see her mother and father standing outside of it. She nodded, "Have a good time."

Her father smiled, "We won't be back until late, so behave."

Anna crossed her arms, "I always do."

Koshiro let out a chuckle and her mother sighed, " _Right_. Well if you need anything, just ask the servants, or call your grandfather."

"Alicia, she's 14, I think she can take care of herself," Koshiro smiled as he put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Besides, Yoh is here too."

"Yes, _that boy_ ," Alicia sighed, "Don't let him talk you into anything, you hear?"

"'Talk me into to anything'? What are you talking about, mother?"

"Alicia…"

"You know, mischief!" Alicia said as she crossed her arms.

Anna rolled her eyes, she didn't care if it was lady-like or not, "Yoh's not evil, mother."

"I know…but he's—"

"He's not a pirate anymore, mother! He's already been here for four years, you should know that already!"

"—a 15 year old boy," Alicia said as she was determined to finish her sentence, "I wasn't going to say 'pirate', Anna, I was going to say "15 year old boy"."

"What has that got to do with anything? Shouldn't you trust him more because he's older?"

Alicia sighed, "Never mind, we're going to be late, Koshiro."

Koshiro chuckled, "Let's go, dear. You don't have to worry about Anna or Yoh. I've raised Yoh to be a fine and respectable boy, he knows how to behave." Then they turned to leave while waving a goodbye to their daughter. Then Koshiro mumbled to his wife: "Besides, it's Anna you should watch out for."

Anna crossed her arms as she watched her parents slowly disappear from her sight. Just what did her mom mean? Besides, it wasn't Yoh who made the plans, it was her, and she had already decided what she and Yoh were to do today. She wanted to go out to sea. Her parents had never really let her go out to sea before. Well, a few times, but she was never allowed to leave her parents sight or go off exploring on her own. And it wasn't like Anna wanted to go far, she just wanted to go to this little island that everyone called "Mu". It wasn't very far at all, actually a small rowboat could take them there and that's just exactly what Anna planned to do. In fact, if they left soon, they would be able to make it there and back before her parents came home and still have time to explore the small, close-by island. Anna quickly got dressed and went over to Yoh's room.

"Yoh!" She knocked on his door, but there was no answer. So she knocked again, and still there was no answer. Maybe he wasn't in his room? Or maybe he was playing a trick on her? So she knocked once more, but when he did not answer she shouted "I'm coming in!"

She opened the door and stepped into his room. After a quick surveillance of the room she turned to leave. Maybe he was in the kitchen? Then she heard a door open, so she turned only wishing now that she hadn't. Right in front of her was Yoh standing in the doorway of the bathroom, half-naked.

"I…I—uh…"

It took all of Anna's strength to subdue a scream while she quickly turned around and exited the room. She slammed the door behind her and yelled "Hurry up and get dressed!"

She heard a frantic "Yes ma'am!" Then she leaned against the door and covered her face. She ordered her blush to be gone from her face by the time Yoh opened the door to let her in. But the more she thought about what she saw, the more she felt the heat on her face. It wasn't that bad, his lower half was covered by a towel but barely. The only thing she really got a look at was his chest. Quite muscular for a boy his age, but what really took her attention was the scars that he had on his abdomen. He never told her that he had scars before…He probably never told her because knowing her, she would ask to see them.

Thinking about the scars rather than his chest made the blush on Anna's face disappear. But then he opened the door and said, "I'm dressed now!" which only made Anna's blush reappear. She took a deep breath before entering the room, hoping that her blush had faded, instead she tried to play it off as though she was flustered, not embarrassed.

He was sitting on his bed, so Anna went and sat at the other side of the bed. He noticed her narrowed eyebrows, crossed arms and "humph" when she sat down. He laughed, "Are you mad?"

She turned her head the other way, "You should've said something and the little incident we just had wouldn't have happened!"

"Wait," he laughed, " _You_ walk into _my_ room while I'm taking a bath, and it's _my_ fault?"

"Well I knocked on your door and called out your name several times," she hastily turned her head towards him, "Surely, you had to have heard me! I even shouted 'I'm coming in'!"

He chuckled and knew that he could not win arguments against Anna. So he settled the dispute with: "I'm sorry."

She un-crossed her arms and sat closer to him; there was something more important on her mind, "Why didn't you tell me you had scars?"

"Wh-what?" He tried to hide the fact that she saw them.

"Your scars," she said as she pointed to her stomach, "The ones you had around here."

He knew there was no hiding, if she thought she was right and he denied it, she would ask to see, "You saw that, huh?"

"Yes. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I thought they would go away…" Yoh said as he sadly looked away, "They're not pretty and I would rather not have anyone know about them, _I_ can't even stand to look at them."

"But how...?" Anna wanted to ask how he got them, but he probably wouldn't remember, or if he did, she could tell by his face that he didn't want to talk about it. "Never mind."

He gave her a smile, "Thanks for not asking." She kept her mouth shut because she really wanted to know, but decided that he would tell her if it was important…right?

"So what is it you want to do today?" He smiled as he lay back onto his bed.

"I'm glad you asked," Anna said with her poisonous smile which immediately made Yoh wish he could take back his question, "I want to go to Mu."

"Mu?"

"Yes, you know that little island that is not too far away from here? If we leave right now, we would have time to go there and explore a little and come back before my parents come home."

"Ehh…I dunno if that's a good idea, Miss Anna," Yoh said as he sat up a bit. "Why don't we just stay home and not risk getting in trouble?"

Anna pouted as she looked at him, "What fun is that?"

"I know what we can do!" He was now sitting up straight, "We can invite some friends over, like Miss Tamao—"

That was all Anna could stand to hear. Why didn't he want to go out with her? And _why_ did he have to name Tamao first! He should know that while Tamao was a student of her mother's and very polite, Anna was annoyed with her most of the time. Well she couldn't really blame Yoh for not knowing how annoyed she was with Tamao because he was always practicing with her father, but that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. What was really bothering Anna was the fact that it was painstakingly obvious that Tamao liked Yoh! And either he didn't realize it, or he did and was just being nice! Or worse…maybe he could've liked her as well! No! He can't! He absolutely could not! That was against all plans Anna ever had!

"—and even Ryu if you want!" Yoh had finished what he was saying but Anna heard none of it, she was too busying thinking about what would happen if Yoh liked Tamao. "Miss Anna? Are you all right?"

She didn't answer, she couldn't get her mind off it, and the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. All she wanted to do was to go to the island Mu because she had never been there without her parents before! Was that too difficult of a task to ask?!

"Miss Anna?"

"Well I'm going!" Anna stood up, "If you won't come with me, then fine! I don't need you to come with me! You can just stay here and invite Tamao!" Then she stormed out of the room.

"Tam—what? Miss Anna!" He ran after her trying to understand why she suddenly got so mad.

"Go away!" Anna said as she tried to walk quickly to the front door. She wanted to go to that damn island!

"Miss Anna, why are you so mad?"

She ignored his question and walked out of her house, forgetting to let the servants know that she even was leaving.

"Miss Anna!" Yoh asked as he followed her out the door towards the docks. "Please slow down and tell me what the matter is!"

She stopped and turned towards him, "Why don't you want to go to the island with me?"

"I'm only thinking of your safety, Miss Anna! Your parents would kill me if something happened to you!"

"Then you're not thinking of _my_ safety, you're thinking of _yours_!" Anna crossed her arms and continued her way towards the docks.

Yoh let out a frustrated sigh. Why did girls have to be so complicated? She didn't even give an excuse as to why she was mad! "Besides, Miss Anna, you said that there's a storm coming!"

"Not until later! We still have time, and besides, it's not a bad storm or else I would've had a headache!" Anna stopped to look at him and crossed her arms. "Please take me to that island, Yoh!"

"But…Miss Anna…your parents told me to keep an eye on you…"

"And you will! If you come with me, then you're fulfilling your duty!"

"But they told me to keep you out of trouble…"

"Going to this island isn't going to be trouble!" Then she uncrossed her arms, "Please, Yoh? I never get to go out without my parents and especially not to Mu!"

Yoh struggled. He knew the right thing to do would be to take her home and make sure she didn't sneak out. But seeing her now made him really want to take her to that island. He had to look away, he couldn't let her sad face sucker him into saying yes. He had to be firm. "M-Miss Anna, w-we…"

Anna put a hand on his face to make him look at her. She gave a solemn face, but her eyes showed sadness that was all too familiar with him and he couldn't stand it.

He sighed, "Miss Anna, we're going to go to Mu, are you ready?"

Anna gave her poisonous sweet smile and let her hand slowly came off his face, "Yes, I'm ready, are you?"

"Yeah, let's go," he sighed again and walked ahead of her.

She walked next to him with a triumphant grin on her face. "Don't worry, it'll be fun."

"No more talk on the matter, please?" Yoh yet again sighed and seemed to walk slower than he usually would. Just seconds before he had his bath this morning, her parents came and gave him a firm warning that he and Anna were to stay at the house and to behave. He was trying very hard to obey her parents. They were giving him shelter, food, an education and most importantly something to call a home. The least he could do for them was to obey their rules, right? He tried very hard, but it was even harder to obey the rules and please Anna. Anna wanted a lot, and if he could, he would give it all to her…but he had to obey her parents. If he didn't, he would most likely end up on the streets and worse yet, away from Anna.

When the two reached the docks, he smiled when he saw Anna eagerly get into the small rowboat. She got in and sat down, waiting for him to follow, "Well? Are you ready?"

"Yes, Miss Anna," he smiled as he got into the boat. She actually offered to help row, but he just chuckled and told her that he would do it. She shrugged and sat back. If he didn't want any help, then she would just enjoy the ride.

Their short little trip was filled with small conversations at times, but something was bugging Anna. Why didn't he tell her about the scars? Did he like Tamao? And why didn't he want to go to this island? Sure, her parents told them to behave and to stay put, but that's never stopped them before. Why now was Yoh suddenly being a 'good boy'? Or…what if he was just tried of her? Was he tried of telling her stories? Is that why he wouldn't tell her about the scars? Was he so tried of her that he didn't want to tell her about the relationship between him and Tamao? He hadn't even visited her lately at night…

"Is something wrong?" Yoh said, startling Anna a bit.

"Why would you ask that?"

"You've gone awfully quiet and you're playing with your beads," he said as he nodded at her.

"Uhm…I was just thinking about how I haven't been here since before you came into our lives," she said to cover up the fact that she was really thinking of him.

"Oh, I see," he said sadly, but then smiled, "Well then I'm glad we're here."

They reached the small island and it was absolutely beautiful. It was full of trees, rocks, and all together very green. It reminded Yoh of a little mini jungle. But all this beauty passed up Anna, she was having trouble deciding whether or not she should confront Yoh on the problem she was having. She knew she wouldn't enjoy herself if she had this problem floating in the back of her mind.

"Yoh?"

"Yes, Miss Anna?" Yoh asked as he tied to boat to the dock.

Anna sat on the dock, "Why don't you visit me anymore?"

"What do you mean?" He asked as he looked at her.

"Why didn't you want to come here with me either?"

"What are you talking about, Miss Anna? I told you why…"

"Was that really the truth?"

"Of course it was, Miss Anna!" Yoh said as he sat next to her on the dock, "Why are you asking this?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the scars?" She suddenly felt the urge to ask all the questions at once, just to get it off her chest.

Tiny little droplets were starting to fall and Yoh thought it couldn't have been worse timing. If it was starting to rain, then they needed to get home as soon as possible, but if he told her that, she'd get even madder. Trying to figure out what he should do and trying to answer Anna's questions _correctly_ were starting to make him agitated. "Why would I need to tell you about the scars?"

Anna wasn't expecting a question from him, but then again she wasn't sure of what to expect. His voice calmed down and he gave a sad smile, "I don't like them…and I thought that you would never have to see them, so that's why I didn't tell you."

At the sound of his voice, she felt a little guilty for asking him, but she was still angry from her other unanswered questions. "Well what about my other questions, hm?"

"Miss Anna, I told you why I didn't want to come…and the proof is falling on us right now! We have to go home now before it starts pouring and it upsets the water!"

Indeed the rain did start coming down faster and faster with each passing minute. But Anna would have none of that interfering with her answers. She stood up, "You just want to go home, don't you? Home to Tamao!"

"What does Miss Tamao have to do with _any_ of this?" Yoh asked confused.

"Hmph," he either just proved her theory that he was clueless or he was just acting dumb. "And the other question? Why don't you visit me anymore?"

"Ah, Miss Anna!" Yoh was getting frustrated with her pressing questions. He was already feeling guilty for not visiting her, but he couldn't let her know why he wasn't. "Miss Anna, I train hard everyday with your father, I return very tired!"

"That never stopped you before!"

"Well I'm older now and the work is harder…you want me to be the best, don't you?"

"I do! But…but you told me…you promised me that you would visit me when I got lonely…" Anna sadly looked down.

He couldn't stand it…The guilt was so strong that it was pouring out of him, but he couldn't tell her the reason. No, if he told the reason, he might break down and start visiting her again. He had to be firm. "Miss Anna…the only reason why I am allowed to live at your home is because I'm learning swordsmanship from your father. I'm not staying at your home to keep you company!"

He didn't mean for that last sentence to sound as harsh as it did, but Anna took the blow hard.

"…Is that so?" Was all Anna could say before she slapped Yoh, turned around, and ran.

What an ungrateful brat! After all, it was she who found him and suggested he lived there! Anna ran as fast as she could away from Yoh. She couldn't stand to see him at the moment and just wanted to hide, she was so angry at him that tears might actually surface. The rain started to pour and it only helped her in hiding.

So it _was_ true, wasn't it? He was tired of her, wasn't he? She was bossy and selfish and he no longer wanted to be her friend! He only stayed at her home because he got to eat and learn swordsmanship for free! Anna covered her face in frustration as she sat down between two bushes; she could care less if her red dress got dirty.

The second after the sentence left Yoh's mouth he noticed that it wasn't worded correctly. He froze when she slapped him and saw her run away as the rain started to get heavy. He got up as soon as he could and ran after her, but surprisingly she was quite fast and had a good head start.

"I'm such an idiot!" He mumbled to himself, "Why didn't I just tell her the truth?"

"Miss Anna!" Yoh yelled looking left and right, though the rain was making it hard to see. "Miss Anna, please answer me!" When there was no answer, he called again, "Miss Anna, please! You'll catch a cold if you're out in this rain!"

Was that all he cared about? Anna thought to herself as she hid behind her bush. Did he only want her safe because if he didn't keep her safe, he would be kicked out of her house?

"Miss Anna!"

"You don't even care about me!" She shouted from her bush, "You just want me safe because you love living in my house!"

In the rain, Yoh couldn't tell where her voice was coming from, so he just shouted back, "That isn't true! That's not the only reason, and I care about you very much! More than I should!"

More than he should? Anna sat there flabbergasted and tried to think of what that meant. "What do you mean?" She shouted back at him.

"I'll tell you if you come out."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Miss Anna, but you need to get out of the rain first."

Anna stood up and found that they were directly across from each other. He smiled at her and offered his hand, "There's a cave close by, let's go there."

She took his hand and let him silently guide her there. Once there, he sat her down and wiped some of the hair from her face and smiled. She couldn't take it anymore, "What did you mean?"

Yoh sighed as he sat next to her. "You mother…she came to talk to me a while ago and she told me that it was my duty to keep you safe, and I plan to do just that, Miss Anna." He said it with a smile that soon faded, "She also said that it was inappropriate for a boy my age to be alone with a girl your age and that if I ever was, I'd be living somewhere else…"

"Why that old…" Anna angrily looked down.

"Don't fret, Miss Anna," Yoh smiled, "I understand, she just wants her precious only daughter to be safe. A-and she said some other things…" he trailed off as he blushed.

"What other things?"

He sheepishly grinned, "It was for my ears only, Miss Anna."

She pouted and crossed her arms.

"In short…It is my duty to protect you from harm, and that is all. _No more than that_." Then he looked down at his hands, "And I'm sorry that me not visiting you is making you unhappy…but I can't risk it, Miss Anna. I…I care about you too much. And I want to stay at your house because I want to be with you."

It was Anna's turn to blush as she looked at him.

"What your mother said to me…what she said was that I could be nothing more than your friend."

"And you're going to listen to her?!" Anna suddenly shouted as she stood up. "But…but…"

"Miss Anna?"

"Why would you listen to her? I don't care what that old bat thinks!"

"Because I want to stay with you…I know that if I live anywhere else, I won't see you."

Anna sat back down. That certainly was true…but…but… "Then we'll just have to be sneaky!"

"But, Miss Anna…!"

"I don't want you to leave either, but I can't stand it if you're only there to protect me. Yoh, I…I…" It was hard to say that she cared for him back. It was her turn to look at her hands, "Yoh, I was so lonely without you…I thought that you were tired of me…I thought that you started to prefer Tamao…and I couldn't stand it." Then she shivered because of her wetness and the wind blowing into the cave.

Yoh wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry I caused you grief."

She shook her head but then shivered. His wet clothes were just making her colder. So then he sat back and took off his shirt. Anna covered her eyes, "Yoh! Just what do you think you're doing?!"

Then he wrapped his arms around her again, "Trying to warm you up!"

She blushed profusely and tried to hide her face, but only found it more embarrassing because she was trying to hide her face in his chest. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on something else. Yoh was probably freezing as well so slowly she wrapped her arms around him. When she was finally calm enough to speak, she opened her eyes. "Yoh…I…I like you too."

He smiled and his grip around her got tighter.

"But," Anna said as she sat back a little to look at his face, "Since I like you that means you can't like anyone else! You got it? If you ever end up liking someone—"

Then Yoh quickly planted a soft kiss to Anna's lips, shutting her up momentarily. "I get it, Miss Anna."

Anna blushed and quickly resumed laying her head against his chest, "W-well good!" After getting over the embarrassment that her first kiss was to shut her up, she smiled. So her plan wasn't totally ruined, and with Yoh on her side, it seemed to be a very promising future.

After thinking for quite some while about herself and Yoh, she thought about how her life would have been different without him. She didn't even want to imagine it, she just thought about how much better things were with him. He was her best friend and she never wanted to be without him. She desperately hoped that he wished for the same thing.

She looked at rain outside. She was actually very thankful to the rain. If it weren't for the rain, she probably wouldn't have ever even had meet Yoh. And if it weren't for the rain, they wouldn't be here now in this cave.

She pulled back a little bit so she could look into his face. She wanted to see those mysterious dark brown eyes that first intrigued her interest and see if they were indeed the same. Much to her fortune, they were the same eyes that she adored and before she knew it, she was leaning in to kiss him. When she first touched his lips, it finally registered in her head of what she was doing. She, for a second, doubted that this was what Yoh wanted and was about to back out of it when she felt Yoh kiss her back. It made her feel assured, but most of all it made her feel safe. It made her feel that this is where were she belonged, and this was where she will stay. She had never felt like that before and she wanted to know that she could always feel like this.

The sound of the rain was loud, but then it got softer and softer until finally the sound came to almost a complete stop.

"Miss Anna," Yoh said while rubbing a hand against her back, "The rain has stopped, we must go home now."

Anna held onto him tighter, "I don't want to. Let's stay here a little longer, please?"

"We've been here long enough. I'm afraid that your parents might get home before us."

Anna froze at that statement. If they did, Yoh would be kicked out for sure. What made everything worse was the fact that their clothes were soaking wet.

"C'mon," he said as he stood up, taking her with him since she didn't let go, "We have to hurry."

Anna finally let go of him as he bent down to pick up his shirt and quickly put it back on, for the first time, she saw his bare back and noticed that he had scars all over there too. She decided not to mention it to him, but she couldn't help but wonder again how he got them. She wondered what he was hit with to make them, or even who dared to hit him? Before he came to her home he was younger than 11…who would hit an 11 year old? It looked like those scars were made by a sword of something. She knew that her father couldn't have hit him, he was found of Yoh, so…who else? Was it the pirates Yoh was with before? Had he really been in that dangerous of a situation? And, did he even remember how he got them? Maybe he was just embarrassed of them and had no clue of where they came from.

While Anna was speculating, Yoh had guided her back to where their boat was. They got in quickly, but Anna was still dwelling on the scars and making up scenarios in her head as to where he could've attained such scars.

"What are you thinking about?" Yoh said suddenly stirring Anna from her thoughts.

She looked at him rowing and tried to decide whether or not to tell him that she was thinking of his scars and that she noticed more on his back.

She hesitated so he decided to speak, "If it's about your parents, don't worry, I'll take the blame."

"That isn't fair! Besides it was _my_ idea, _I_ should be the one to take the blame!" Anna crossed her arms, slightly relieved that he didn't guess what she was thinking.

"That's noble of you, Miss Anna, but don't worry about it," he smiled, and then he smile lessened, "And don't worry about the scars. I don't remember how I got them, but I'll try to make up a story for you to make up for lost time."

Anna tried to suppress a blush as she uncrossed her arms. He's gotten much better at being able to know what she was thinking. "I'm sorry," she mumbled as she struggled to get those words out. She normally didn't apologize, but she felt that this may be a time to since Yoh didn't like the subject of his scars.

He gave her a smile and continued to row home. Soon, with much effort coming from Yoh, they reached Funbari. Yoh helped Anna out of the boat and held onto her hand as they quickly walked home. She had not realized how late it actually was. It must've taken more time than she thought to arrive at Mu and since they got into that little spat; it didn't seem like much time at all.

Yoh and Anna stopped in front of her house. Yoh reluctantly let go of Anna's hand and gulped. No doubt he would get in a lot of trouble…maybe even kicked out of the house.

Anna noticed Yoh's strained expression and instantly felt bad for talking him into going with her. She was thankful that out of it she got Yoh's confession, but she hoped that that didn't risk everything for it. She took a hold of his hand and squeezed lightly, "It's not your fault."

He smiled at her sweetly, but then freed his hand from her grasp to open the door.

"They're home!" One of the servants exclaimed. Instantly, footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs. Alicia, practically running down the stairs shouted: "Where have you two been! I've been worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs.—"

 _ **SWAP!**_

Alicia slapped Yoh hard across the face.

"Mother!" Anna shouted in absolute astonishment.

"How _dare_ you!" Alicia yelled at Yoh, "We let you stay here; we give you food, shelter, an education, all for free! And what do you do? You take advantage of my daughter, even after I explicitly told you to stay away from her! You are no more than a bodyguard, understand?!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kyoyama," Yoh said as he held his swollen cheek.

"Mother, it's not his fault!" Anna interjected, "He _was_ being my bodyguard! I wanted to go to Mu! I left and he followed me to make sure I was safe! It was _my_ idea and not his!"

"Do you have any idea of how worried I was to come home to find my only daughter and some once-pirate gone? Your father is out there looking all over for you! How am I supposed to know that _he_ didn't kidnap you and try to sell you for ransom?!"

Just then Koshiro entered the house and gave a relieved sigh, "They're home!"

He was ignored as Anna fired back, "Because Yoh is a good boy! He would never do that, why won't you trust him?! He's been here for four years already!"

"Because I can't take chances like that, Anna! Our town has been terrorized by pirates before and the perfect target for them is the governor's young defenseless granddaughter! I was protected like you were too when I was little and I'm thankful for it!" Then she turned her attention to Yoh, "Then _this boy_ comes along! No background, no solid story, there is nothing on this boy and we're suddenly expected to trust that this isn't a trap? What if he was sent here to get information on us and is just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike! He—"

"Mother, please!" Anna begged, "Yoh is not bad, not at all! _I_ wanted to go to Mu, he argued against me not to go, but I decided to go anyway so he followed me! The reason we were gone so long is because we couldn't get home while it was raining!" Then she turned to her father, "Father, you believe me, don't you?"

He looked at his daughter sympathetically, "Anna, go take a bath before you catch a cold, then go straight to bed. Your punishment will be decided tomorrow." He said with a stern look, then looked at Yoh, "Son, go change your clothes and come right back here."

"Yes sir," both Yoh and Anna said in unison.

"And, Anna?" she turned towards her father, "You go to bed right after you bathe, understand? If I catch you snooping around, your punishment will be 10 times worse."

She gave a nod and went up the stairs. She was hoping to talk to Yoh, but he was already gone. She tried to hold back the tears as the realization that Yoh might not be there when she woke up and it was all her fault struck her. She didn't like crying and thought it was un-lady for a girl to cry in public, but she couldn't help it. When she was done bathing, she laid in her bed, still trying to fight back the tears. Her bed seemed especially large tonight. She finally just closed her eyes and let the tears fall.

It was all her fault. If she weren't so stubborn, they could've just stayed home. She could've argued with him while they were home, they didn't have to go all the way to Mu just to admit their feelings for each other. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't she just listen to him for once?

She started to sniff as she tried not to make noises as she cried. Yoh was her best friend and what he said was true, if he moved out, then they wouldn't see each other. The only hope she had now was in her father. Her father knew Yoh, her mother didn't! What did her mother know?! Her mother was just paranoid! It wasn't fair! How could she just judge Yoh like that?!

The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't hold in her cries. She covered her mouth to make sure no noise escaped, she had to calm down and not make a scene. Crying could maybe get her sympathy, but she didn't want to get Yoh to stay like that. If she was going to fight for him to stay, she was going to do it in a dignified way!

"What are you crying for, Miss Anna?"

The voice made her jump out of her skin. She immediately sat up to see Yoh sitting on the side of her bed.

"You aren't crying for me, are ya'?"

"N-no, of course not!" She wiped her eyes. "Me, cry? I've never heard of such a ridiculous thing!"

"Good, because you shouldn't."

She threw her arms around him and didn't care if that was un-lady like or not. No one was around and no one was watching, she could do whatever or be whoever she wanted. "Yoh, what happened?"

He wrapped his arms around Anna, "I can stay. Your father vouched for me."

Anna couldn't exclude her happiness as she hugged him tighter. "Good. I was about ready to fight that old bat for you!" Then she looked up at Yoh and touched his cheek gently, "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No," Yoh smiled as he shook his head, "And don't be mad at your mother for protecting you."

"Why not! She's so judgmental! It's not fair, Yoh!"

"She wants you safe, and I want you safe. That's all that matters. It's good that she cares."

Anna crossed her arms, she was still too mad to accept what Yoh was saying.

"Now, get back in bed, Miss Anna."

"But…"

"I will stay for a while, don't worry."

"When did you get here? I didn't even hear you come in." Anna asked as she crawled back in bed.

"Your window was unlocked." Well, she knew that, she kept it unlocked just in case he would come visit her, "And I guess you didn't hear me because you were too into your thoughts."

"Oh…" Anna said slowly while Yoh laid beside her.

"I'm going to stay here until you fall asleep, okay?"

Anna nodded, already semi-exhausted by the headache she was getting from crying.

He smiled as he started to tell her a story of how he got one of his scars. She listened intently but eventually fell asleep. When he was done telling the story, he called out her name gently. She didn't answer so he kissed her on the forehead and said goodnight.

Her parents told him that it was wrong to love Anna; that he had no background, no family, and no money. It would be wrong and a waste if a beautiful _Lady_ like Anna was to marry some nameless ex-pirate like Yoh. And nobody was even sure if Yoh was an ex-pirate, so he didn't have anything stable at all. All he had was skill in swordsmanship, so becoming Anna's bodyguard was logical, but becoming Anna's husband? Ridiculous. Even if he were to stay Koshiro's top apprentice, it wouldn't change her mother's opinion. If things went her mother's way, Anna might marry Ryu, who was wealthy and just under skill from Yoh. So Ryu, in Anna's mother's eyes, was a perfect match for Anna.

Even though Yoh was warned, he couldn't help but love Anna. He knew he shouldn't and that her liking him back was even worse, but he thought that if he proved his love was pure, her parents might accept it. He just wanted Anna to be happy and he knew that what she wanted more than anything was to go out and have an adventure. He would gladly give her the world if he could, but knew that she had to stay in this little town and become a Lady.

He decided right then and there that he would take her on an adventure no matter what and he would make her happy. He would prove to her parents that he loved her purely and honestly. He would even go out there and work hard to earn money to take care of Anna. Hell, he would even run for governor if that meant he could be with Anna.

"Anna, we'll be together someday. We'll have plenty of adventures and you'll be happy, I promise."

With that, Yoh got up and decided to go back to his room. As his punishment, his training was going to be harder and his studies would be longer. But it was worth it if it meant he could stay with Anna. He just knew that even though things might be hard now, he and Anna would be together, and they would have their great adventure.

* * *

Well? What did you think? **Any comments, questions, suggestions, or constructive criticism?** Like I said this is my first time trying to do an Action/Adventure fic, so I will gladly receive any comments or suggestions on the matter! **So please make sure that you do review and give me some feedback! Any feedback will be considered and help me write faster!**

 **Until next chapter, thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned for chapter three!**


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